Walter Smith remains the key man for Rangers this season

Beattie signs but the boss remains the top man

In our last minute preview of the 2010/11 SPL season, we have been looking at clubs and the player who could be their key man. Rangers signed James Beattie today and many will be looking for the ex England internationalist to grab goals but we aren’t going to list him as the top man for the Ibrox side.

The latest media stories indicate Rangers are keen to sign Allan McGregor, Kenny Miller and Sasa Papac on new contracts and are looking to open negotiations with these players after utility man Lee McCulloch signed on again. If Rangers are able to tie up some of their key men on longer deals, it will be brilliant news for all concerned at Ibrox.

With such a compact squad, no one player is going to be the huge player this season for Rangers.

There needs to be a strong collective unit and players being able to switch positions and roles when required.

This means the manager has the important task of cajoling tired minds, lifting heavy hearts and laying out his instructions to the letter.

It’s just as well for Rangers fans that Walter Smith is one of the best at undertaking this sort of role, and some of the experience he gained before arriving at Ibrox may provide him with some handy reference points.

The league triumph of Dundee United in 1983 was breathtaking enough in the fact that the Tannadice club won the title but to win the league using a squad of just 14 players marked it out as a phenomenal feat. This number of players falls short of the match-day squad for SPL teams nowadays!

Smith was the right-hand man for United legend Jim McLean when United won the top flight title for the only time so far in their history.

Football has changed since then, the game is faster, more punishing and international and European League action endeavours will impact on teams who have genuine ambitions of winning their domestic title.

Even the rules of the game have changed since that Dundee United title win.

That United team could spend large chunks of time passing the ball back to Hamish McAlpine, frustrating opponents and taking the sting out of the game. The back-pass rule prevents teams from playing in this manner, keeping the game moving at a faster rate and stretching the space used by teams.

The time spent under McLean was followed with a few years working alongside Graeme Souness (and of course Alex Ferguson at the 1986 World Cup) before Smith took over the hot seat at Ibrox and since then, Smith has delivered his own legacy.

The fact that Smith, in his second spell in charge of the club, has dragged Rangers to two titles in a row, as well as that Uefa Cup run, indicates he still has the ability to get the most from his team. Rather than rushing to criticise Smith’s team for what some call defensive tactics, it may be that praise should be offered to Smith for what he has achieved with the players and money at his disposal.

Most people know how will Rangers will set up but only their European opponents have been able to dismantle them. In the SPL, Rangers are in the habit of doing what is necessary and even though their squad is depleted, you still see them having this knack of grinding out results and grabbing points.

And points win titles.

Smith spent a small fortune at the start of the 2008/09 season and it has served him well in the intervening seasons but that squad definitely needs strengthening now. Beattie is likely to be joined by one or two more players before the window shuts and Smith knows these players will have to integrate quickly into his tight-knit squad.

If Rangers win their 3rd title in a row and their 54th in total, the number of voices shouting ARISE SIR WALTER will reach deafening levels.

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